Investigating spending behaviour pattern among working millennials in Malaysia : a case study

Abstract

About 40 percent of our working Millennials in Malaysia spent more than their capability mirrored by money management knowledge and practice. The worst impact of this phenomenon is bankruptcy. Regarding past studies, those who were born from 1981 to 1995 can be considered Millennials which makes this generation the highest population in Malaysia. Overall, this study paved the way to make known the underlying causes of spending behaviour patterns among the working Millennials in Malaysia which can be seen created through three (3) major keys called economic, psychological, and social factors. Together with that, the researcher discovered the impacts of this occurrence on their lives which consists of both financial and emotional well-being. Theoretically, four (4) theories enlightened this study which are the field theory, self-perception theory, social identity theory, and consumer culture theory to represent and reinforce each research question and research objective. Methodologically, this study absorbed the qualitative approach in the case study branch which treated each case as exclusive and independent from one to another to avoid any bias and early judgment of the conclusion. For this study, 20 participants across Malaysia voluntarily participated to share their lived experiences regarding spending behaviour patterns, and due to the battle of COVID-19, both online and offline platforms were used to undergo the interview sessions. Additionally, the snowballing technique was applied in both participant searching and semi-structured interview sessions. As the novice researcher, the pilot study can be deemed as entrée before the major study took place as the main course in completing the study. For the data analysis, ATLAS.ti aided the researcher in reaching out with the findings and discussion of the study. Apart from the literature, methodological, and theoretical contribution, the Spending Behaviour Pattern Model (SBPM) is the practical contribution to be highlighted in this study. Acknowledged that there is no perfect study, there is a list of recommendations suggested to be improved in future studies such as the age group division and involvement of self-employed Millennials with a suitable time frame and issues to be expanded.